[labnetwork] Rehabilitation of sputtering chamber with uncertain history

[Aaron Hryciw]

Hello all,

Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions.  Sounds like a good procedure
would be to perform an elemental analysis on the material on the chamber
walls, followed by sending the chamber (and all parts therein) out to
Quantum Clean if the analysis reveals any toxics.

Cheers,

 – Aaron




Aaron Hryciw, PhD, PEng

Fabrication Group Manager

University of Alberta - nanoFAB

W1-060 ECERF Building

9107 - 116 Street

Edmonton, Alberta

Canada T6G 2V4 Ph: 780-940-7938
www.nanofab.ualberta.ca


On Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 6:42 AM, John Nash <jcn8004 at rit.edu> wrote:

> Aaron,
>
> Before cleaning it, I would do the elemental analysis. This way you know
> for sure if it needs to be cleaned or not. Also, it is not just the chamber
> that will need to be cleaned but all parts in the process chamber. This
> includes the chamber isolation valve plates. The majority of the exposed
> parts in the process chamber and the chamber itself are stainless steel and
> molybdenum, which should make for easy cleaning. There are also some
> feedthroughs to be mindful of in the lid assembly during disassembly and
> cleaning.
>
>
>
> I just finished leak checking and repairing a nearly identical AJA system
> in another lab on our campus. If you would like, I can go re familiarize
> myself with it to provide further detail on concerns.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> John C Nash
>
> SMFL - Technician
>
> Rochester Institute of Technology
>
> Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory
>
> 82 Lomb Memorial Dr.
>
> Bldg. 17
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=82+Lomb+Memorial+Dr.%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Bldg.+17&entry=gmail&source=g>
> -2627
>
> Rochester, NY 14623
>
>
>
> 585 478-3835 cell
>
> john.nash at rit.edu
>
> www.smfl.rit.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu [mailto:labnetwork-bounces@
> mtl.mit.edu] *On Behalf Of *Aaron Hryciw
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 09, 2018 2:07 PM
> *To:* labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
> *Subject:* [labnetwork] Rehabilitation of sputtering chamber with
> uncertain history
>
>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
>
>
> Our open-access facility recently inherited an AJA Orion 5 sputtering
> system from the lab of a PI who had left the university.  While it has a
> number of nice features that would make it a welcome addition to our
> toolset (e.g., load locked, substrate heating, automated deposition
> control, etc.), it also has a somewhat uncertain history, due to
> inconsistent and/or missing record keeping in its previous lab.  We know
> for certain that it was used for many magnesium depositions, but there are
> also rumours of possible antimony and cadmium (!) depositions, albeit only
> a handful of times.
>
>
>
> I am looking for advice on how to bring this system to a state where we
> can safely use and maintain it in the long term.  Given its uncertain
> history and possible toxic contents, we are wary of performing a physical
> chamber clean ourselves.  Are there service providers available to whom we
> could send the chamber and deposition hardware (guns, dark space shields,
> shutters, etc.) to get chemically or physically cleaned?  Is it feasible to
> forego cleaning altogether and just bury everything in a thick Ti layer?
>
>
>
> We have a number of elemental analysis capabilities in house, so we should
> in the near future be able to have at least semi-quantitative data on what
> materials are on the chamber walls, but I thought I would poll the
> Labnetwork for general best practices on how to proceed.  Many thanks in
> advance.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
>  – Aaron
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Aaron Hryciw, PhD, PEng
>
> Fabrication Group Manager
>
> University of Alberta - nanoFAB
>
> W1-060 ECERF Building
>
> 9107 - 116 Street
>
> Edmonton, Alberta
>
> Canada T6G 2V4 Ph: 780-940-7938
>
> www.nanofab.ualberta.ca
>
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